2011 Harley-davidson Flhrc Road King Classic on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Three-Year-Old Motorcycle Prodigy?

Even though Tiger woods started paying golf at age two, this story of a three-year-old boy from New Delhi, India is probably just as impressive, maybe more.  Azeem Khan, photographed on the Royal Enfield Bullet above, has been granted a special license by judges in India allowing him to ride his motorcycle on side roads but is not allowed out on the main roads by himself. Khan’s father had to customize the bike so that the young boy could reach the controls and prove that he could handle the motorcycle on his own. I used to sit him on my bike and he would always grab at the controls.

Vespa goes back to the future

IT'S been a while coming, but the gorgeous Vespa 946 - EICMA 2012's Best of Show - has finally introduced something to the two-wheeled world that our four-wheeled counterparts have had for a while.  I call this 'reverse retro-futurism' - the art of borrowing lines from models past and imbuing them with a sleek sense of future direction (as opposed to retro-futurism, the pre-1960s design trend of depicting the technology of the future. The term 'decopunk' may come close, but feel free to tell me if there's a more exact term.) It's what the New Mini and the New Beetle (both 1997 and 2012 versions) have done so well, and so successfully: building an all-new model as a tribute to a classic, something that's modern yet already timeless, with a widely-appreciated, inclusive aesthetic (and here we eliminate the Plymouth PT Cruiser from the conversation). The biking world is great at retro, indeed thrives on it, but not so good at adding in a taste of the 21st century.

Church of MO: 1997 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic

How many 25-year old motorcycles are still being sold anyway? The Honda XR650L springs to mind, but other than it, it’s too early on Easter Sunday to investigate further. Granted, the Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic has undergone enough changes as to really not be the same machine anymore, yet that indelible American profile, architecture, and riding experience remain the same.